BSANTA
BARBARA,
CA: Two
significant
wildfires
in three
weeks
near
Santa
Barbara,
California,
have
tested
the
area’s
Information
Radio
Stations’
ability
to
direct
the
public
quickly
out of
harm’s
way.

On
October
17th, a
vegetation
fire
caused
by
downed
power
lines
required
the
evacuation
of
Painted
Cave, CA
– a
community
that
lost
more
than 400
homes
and
public
buildings
in a
devastating
fire in
1990.
The
nearby
San
Marcos
Pass
Information
Station
on AM
1040,
operated
by Mike
Williams,
broadcast
critical
fire and
evacuation
information
continuously
for
residents
as they
lined up
on
Highway
154 to
exit. In
the end,
all
lives
and
structures
were
saved
and the
fire was
contained
to 44
acres.

Three
weeks
later, a
similar
fire in
Montecito,
California's,
backcountry
triggered
emergency
evacuation
information
to be
broadcast
on
Montecito
Fire
Protection
District’s
Information
Station
on AM
1610.
The San
Marcos
Pass
station
carried
the
evacuation
information,
as well.
Fortunately,
this
fire was
contained
by late
afternoon
and
residents
returned
to
intact
homes.

States
Williams,
“The use
of low
power
radio in
emergency
situations
proves
invaluable.
The
ability
to
provide
quick
information
to the
public
is
essential
during
fast
moving
events
such as
wildfires.”

The
PowerSTAT
portable
power
product
in
production
2011-17 completed
a series
of tests
that
indicated
it
presented
opportunities
for
Health
Departments
who wanted
to
maintain
operation
of
vaccine
refrigerators
when
grid
power
went
down.

Research
showed
that a
4.5
cubic-foot
fridge
would
run 72
hours on
PowerSTAT’s
internal
batteries.
The
run-time
could be
multiplied
4X by
the
addition
of
outboard
batteries.

PowerSTAT
units
shipped
to local
health
departments
beginning
in 2012,
according
to Information Station Specialists
president
Bill
Baker.
“It was
popular
with
health
departments
because
it was
quiet
and did
not rely
on
fossil
fuel, so
it could
be used
indoors
– unlike
a
conventional
generator,”
stated
Baker.
“You
kept the
refrigerator
plugged
into it
all the
time,
and when
power
dropped,
it was
already
online.
Since it
was on
wheels,
you could
take it
to
remote
Points
of
Dispensing
(PODS)
as
well.”

Communities
that
operate
Information
Radio
Stations
also
employed
the
technology.
Sweetwater
County,
Wyoming,
operates
three
PowerSTAT
units
that
serve as
the main
power
sources
for the
County’s
three
portable
Information
Radio
Stations
when
they are
deployed.
Operators
with
fixed
stations
employed
the unit
as an
“uninterruptable
power
supply”
to allow
broadcasting
to
continue
automatically
if
power
was
cut.

PowerSTAT
was introduced
by
Information
Station
Specialists
in 2011
and discontinued in
2017. It was a
pure sine-wave AC
inverter plus high
capacity charger with
hefty battery pack, all
packaged in a
weather-resistant
portable case. It could
be charged
at any standard 120-volt
AC power outlet.
And provided pure, clean,
energy, quietly.
It was approved for indoor use
and
could
stand alone or be
employed as a power
source for the
RadioSTAT Portable
Emergency Advisory Radio
Station.

LA
Lacks
LAX
Radio

Nation's
First
Information
Station
Goes
Silent

Word
is that
Los
Angeles
LAX
Airport’s
oversized
AM 530
signal
that has
blanketed
the LA
basin
since
anyone
can
remember
… is
silent.

Is the
nation’s
premier
Information
Radio
Station
really
DOA? Or
is it
just
AWOL?

"The
Source"
reached
out to
Dick
Burden,
the
station’s
original
consultant/designer
to get
the
story.
Burden
stated
that the
airport’s
contract
with a
local
vendor
to
manage
the
station
lapsed
in 2011
and that
“the
Airport
appeared
to be no
longer
willing
to bear
the
expense
of
operation.”

The LAX
station
and its
high
efficiency
antenna
operated
with a
special
FCC
waiver
that
allowed
it to
broadcast
at 100
watts
instead
of the
conventional
10
watts.
Due to
the long
wavelength
of the
530
frequency,
the
signal
could be
monitored
more
than 30
miles
away.

Muses
Burden,
“It’s
sad to
hear
that
this
installation,
which
gave
birth to
the
Travelers
Information
Service
as we
know it
today,
and
established
the
original
530 and
1610
frequencies
as TIS
frequencies,
is no
longer
interested
in the
public
service
it has
offered
to
travelers
using
the
Airport
for the
past 40
years.”

RIP, LAX
530.

Talk to The Source

Selected Reader
Responses

'AM'
azing
After
reading
what you
attached,
I was
amazed
at the
progress
that has
been
made
since I
started
working
with
your
company
back in
the 90's
while I
was in
Naperville
[IL]. I
remember
we
started
with the
one
transmitter
and then
added
two more
and
hooked
them
together
using
satellite
connections
so that
the
signal
covered
the 50
square
miles of
the
city.
Reading
what
technology
has been
added
and the
different
platforms
associated
with the
programs
really
provides
a great
emergency
management
tool to
keep
residents
informed.
It has
come a
long way
in the
past
several
years.
Hopefully
the
rules
will
change
for the
better
so that
these
stations
can be
used
more in
emergencies.
Would be
nice if
more
agencies
here in
Florida
would
use it
since we
get
hurricanes
annually
and
power is
lost, a
car
radio or
portable
radio
keeps
you
informed.
Thanks
for
keeping
me
informed.
Bill
Reynolds,
Former
Naperville,
IL, EM
Coordinator

Relevant
for
Non-Radio
Folks
TooI signed
up for
the free
regular
newsletter.
For me,
it is
all
about
the
practical
application
of the
technology.
The
piece on
Sandy
was
good.
Looks
like you
guys
know how
to
communicate
with us
non-radio
people
as well.
Looking
forward
to
receiving
next
update.
Nicholas
J.
Child,
Deputy
Director,
Grafton
Emergency
Management
Agency,
MA

Info
Radio
Can
Speak
when
Computers
Can'tOne
point
which
must be
driven
home
about
the
Information
Radio
stations:
There is
lots of
idiocy
and
ignorance
out
there
regarding
the
saturation
and
accessibility
of the
new
media –
computers,
iPhones,
“Smart”phones,
etc. So
many
responsible
agencies
act as
if the
Internet
and all
associated
peripherals
will
survive
a major
natural
disaster
– NO
WAY.
They
will
shrivel
and die
just
like in
a
William
Castle
horror
movie!
Only
radio
stations
and
battery
or
crank-powered
receivers
will
survive
to play
whatever
is
delivered
over the
air. The
stations
in
question
can be
50-kilowatt
powerhouses
or a
10-watt
flamethrower
like our
station.
In
either
case,
information
– local
information
that is
– is
king and
Information
Radio
Stations
are the
top of
the
heap.
Richard
K.
Phoenix,
Chief
Operator
WPQJ970,
Borough
Clerk,
North
Plainfield,
NJ

Never
Thought
of
StreamingLiked
the
newsletter
....
Never
thought
about
streaming
info
radio
over the
net.
Rosann
Fillmore,
US
Forest
Service,
Manti
LaSal
National
Forest,
UT

Helping
SurvivorsI've
been
very
busy
lately
[and]
saw the
newsletter...wonderful
job
helping
disaster
survivors
with
great
emergency
Comms in
NJ.
Thanks
for all
you do.
Cathy
Dempsey,
FEMA
Disaster
Generalist

Two
Storms
in Two
Years Is
Too MuchI can
tell you
this ...
I will
be
making a
BIG
campaign
to my
town
hall
officials
and
residents
why we
need the
[Information
Radio
streaming]
product.
I am not
expecting
any
opposition.
Two
storms
in two
years....with
a large
elderly
population
... I
will use
these
two
topics
along
with
topics
that
will
support
the
purchase
and use
of the
equipment.
Thanks!
Don Izzo,
Director,
Westbrook
Emergency
Management,
CT

Sandy
Proved a
Point...
Hurricane
Sandy
was on
and
knocked
out
phones/cell
phones/internet
-- I
believe
the
whole
government
of Bound
Brook
and OEM
is
convinced
that we
need an
AM
station.
Thanks.
Carey
Pilato,
Mayor,
Bound
Brook,
NJ